Recent baltic sea level changes induced by past and present ice masses

Abstract

The present study examines recent sea-level changes in the Baltic Sea region which are induced by past as well as by present-day ice-mass changes. Still ongoing changes in relative sea level caused by glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) are modelled in a gravitationally self-consistent way using a GIA model. Moreover, sea-level fingerprints due to present-day ice loss in Greenland and Antarctica could also be modelled. The inducing mass-change patterns are inferred from 11 years of satellite gravimetry observations. Long-term changes in relative sea level and crustal deformations are derived from observations at tide gauges and GPS sites. Both results could be used to validate the GIA modelling results and to infer a regional long-term (1901–1990) sea-level estimate. This regional estimate amounts to 1.2±0.2 mm/a and is in agreement with other global estimates.